As most people have either heard or experienced, the process of building a house is a roller coaster ride. At this point, we are really trying to keep our eyes on the end result. I am very grateful to Gabe for being my rock and keeping me grounded when that roller coaster starts heading south. We have had many ups and downs throughout these past few months, so I thought I would share some of our highs and lows.
Highs
House Plans: My favorite part of everything was the ability to create our own house plan to fit our needs. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved looking at house plans, so when it was time for our own, I had a blast creating ours. This is something that I like even now walking through the house. It flows well and will work great for us.
Decisions, Decisions: It's great that we get to pick out everything from the paint to flooring to countertops. We don't have to worry about replacing something if we were to just buy a home. However, there are downfalls to this as well. I have been obsessed with researching products, trying to get the best deal on everything, and creating a cohesive design, so this can be a low as well because (as Gabe can attest), I tend to second guess decisions.
Progress: It's always exciting to see progress being made on the house. Going from a empty lot to a slab and then framing to give the home the feel of a home is super cool. It's great to have Mimi and Pop keeping an eye on things so that we know what (if anything) is being worked on.
Lows
Budget: We have been saving since we got married for this day. One reason that we liked our contractor was because he told us that he is usually able to stay within 10k of the budget. Our particular contract is a cost plus fixed fee contract, which means that our contractor fee is fixed but everything else is not set. A huge disappointment for us is that we are already over that standard mark he quoted us and obviously still have a long way to go before we are done. The worst part about this is that we are over on items that we were not making decisions on (concrete, framing, etc). Granted there have been a few items here and there that we upgraded, but the majority of our overruns are not our fault. At this point in the build we are making decisions on items, so we are doing our best to come in at or below budget. Fingers crossed here...
Customer Service: Our builder builds beautiful homes and we were very pleased with the work we saw, however have been very disappointed with the customer service he has provided. We will text, call or email and MANY times never receive a response. It feels like we are not a priority, which is disappointing considering the good money we are paying him. Of course the dilemma here is do you complain to the man in charge of building your home or just accept this issue and pray things get better.
Delays: The process to get the build rolling was longer than expected especially with attaining the bank loan, figuring out which city our property belonged to, etc. I started talking to the house designer a year ago and we first met with the builder back in January. During the actual build, we have been lucky and only had a few short delays due to one reason or another.
Some important things I've learned and want to share with those who will also go through this roller coaster is:
- Expect the unexpected and try your best to roll with the punches
- Give yourself a cushion on time and money
- Building a home is great, but try not to let it take over your life
I am very thankful for a supportive husband and family and am glad this will be our first and last home :-)
